Internet Info 1997 December/Internet_Info_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_December_1997.iso/faqs/sci/geo/meteorology/Meteorology_FAQ_Part_4_7:_Sources_of_CD-ROMs

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From: [e-mail] (Ilana Stern)
Newsgroups: sci.geo.meteorology,news.answers,sci.answers
Subject: Meteorology FAQ Part 4/7: Sources of CD-ROMs
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Date: 7 Oct 1997 11:00:20 GMT
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Summary: Weather and research data available via CD-ROM
Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu sci.geo.meteorology:37487 news.answers:114084 sci.answers:7190

Archive-name: meteorology/cdroms
Last-modified: 16 Jul 1997

Recent changes:

  ==within last two weeks==

  ==within last four weeks==


This article is copyright (c) 1995 by Ilana Stern.  It may be freely
distributed for non-commercial purposes only, provided that this copyright
notice and the instructions on retrieving a current copy are not removed.

If the date in the headers of the document you're reading
is more than a month old, you should retrieve a current copy.
Current copies of this FAQ series can be obtained by anonymous FTP at
<URL:ftp://ncardata.ucar.edu/other_resources/meteorology-faq/> or
in hypertext form via WWW at <URL:http://www.scd.ucar.edu/dss/faq/>.

There are 7 documents in this FAQ series:
  Meteorology FAQ Part 1/7: Intro
  Meteorology FAQ Part 2/7: Sources of weather data
  Meteorology FAQ Part 3/7: Sources of research data
  Meteorology FAQ Part 4/7: Sources of CD-ROMs  <===
  Meteorology FAQ Part 5/7: Internet resources
  Meteorology FAQ Part 6/7: Print and other resources
  Meteorology FAQ Part 7/7: List of US State Climatologists

Corrections, additions, and comments should be sent to Ilana Stern at
[e-mail].  Please include in your message where you read
this FAQ series.  Note that if I know about it, it's in these documents.

------------------------------

Subject: 1) Table of contents

 1) Table of contents
 2) Overview
 3) Weather data
 4) Research data
 5) Miscellaneous CDs

Each (major) section has a "Subject:" line, so you can search on the
subject title above to find the section quickly.

------------------------------

Subject: 2) Overview

CD-ROMs tend to be relatively expensive, but can hold as much as 600 megabytes
of data.  Prices may be outdated, so be sure to inquire from the provider
for current prices.  Prices for some discs are not known.  Some discs are
provided with driving software.  Most of the software is for IBM-PC or
compatible systems, but some is available for the Macintosh, and,
increasingly, for Unix systems.

Some of these listings are not for CD-ROMs, but are for floppies or
tapes.  These are listed here, rather than in the section on data available
on other media, because they have been prepared as a package.  For non-
prepackaged data requests, see the data centers listed in the FAQ section
Meteorology FAQ Part 3/7: Sources of research data.

Commercial sources are flagged as such.  Inclusion of a commercial
source in this listing does not imply endorsement.

------------------------------

Subject: 3) Weather data

Climate Change Data ($950, or 595 pounds sterling from UK source):
  Monthly 5-degree surface temperature anomaly grids 1854-1990, pressure
grids 1873-1990.  Monthly world temperature data at about 3500 stations and
precipitation data at about 6500 stations, for period of record (long).
Retrieval and mapping software included, available for various systems.
  Contact:  Dr. Phil Jones, Climatic Research Unit, University of East
Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ United Kingdom.  Distributed in North America by
Chadwyck-Healey Inc.,1101 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314.  800/752-0515.

World Weather Disc ($295):
  Monthly temp, precip, pressure, sunshine data for about 2000 world stations
for period of record.  Daily weather data at hundreds of US stations.  Data
for some stations on temp, precip, freeze, drought, soil moisture, wind,
storms.  Frequency and movement of tropical cyclones.
  Contact:  Cliff Mass, Dept. of Atmos. Sci. (AK40), University of Washington,
Seattle, WA  98195.  206/685-0910.

National Climate Information Disc Volume 1 ($120):
  Monthly temperature, precipitation, Palmer Hydrological Drought Index for 344
climate divisions of US.  Data can be viewed in tabular or graphical format.
The disc covers the period 1895-1989 and contains 1032 time-series graphs,
4180 maps, and 5400 frames of video animation.
  Contact:  National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), Attn:  Climate Services
Branch, 151 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801-5001.  704/271-4800,
fax [phone], email [e-mail].  Add $5 service charge per order.

SAMSON (Solar and Meteorological Surface Observational Network)
(3 disks, $120 each or $360 for the set):
  The three CD-ROMs are divided geographically into regions:  eastern,
central, and western U.S., and contain hourly solar radiation data along with
selected meteorological elements for the period 1961-1990.  It encompasses
237 NWS stations in the United States, and also includes Guam and Puerto
Rico.  The dataset includes both observational and modelled data.  The hourly
solar elements are:  Extraterrestrial horizontal and extraterrestrial direct
normal radiation; global, diffuse, and direct normal radiation.
  Meteorological elements are:  Total and opaque sky cover, temperature and
dew point, relative humidity, pressure, wind direction and speed, visibility,
ceiling height, present weather, precipitable water, aerosol optical depth,
snow depth, days since last snowfall, and hourly precipitation. Joint
NCDC and NREL product, available for DOS only.
 Contact:  National Climatic Data Center, see above.

CLIVUE CD-ROM  ($120):
  The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) developed a CD-ROM in support of
a museum exhibit which traveled across the U.S.  The CD contains a
1,500-station subset of NCDC's nearly 8,000 U.S. daily cooperative stations.
The user selects a date and area of the U.S. and the CD-ROM database is
queried for stations within the specified domain having data.  Then, the
system displays daily maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation, and
snowfall for the site.  Graphs showing 7 years, 21 years, and the full period
of record (varies by station) for the station(s) are available.  Visual
displays allow users to view trends, variability, and extremes.
  This is a joint NCDC and Franklin Institute product, available for DOS only.
  Contact:  National Climatic Data Center, see above.

International Station Meteorological Climate Summary (ISMCS) v. 3.0 ($120)
  This CD-ROM gives detailed climatological summaries for 2200 locations
worldwide.  These locations include National Weather Service stations,
domestic and overseas Navy and Air Force sites, and numerous foreign stations.
Limited summaries are also given for approximately 5000 additional worldwide
sites. Tabular or statistical data can be exported to a printer or spreadsheet.
  Version 3.0 supports mouse capability and allows users to graph selected
tables.  Joint NCDC, USAF and U.S. Navy product.  DOS only.
  Contact:  National Climatic Data Center, see above.

U.S. Navy Marine Climatic Atlas of the World Ver 1.1 ($120):
  This CD-ROM includes analysis and display software for climatological
averages of atmospheric and oceanographic data.  The data are summarized with
user-defined 1 and 5 degree grid areas covering the global marine environment.
The summaries are produced using predominately ship data collected between
1854-1969.  The major elements include air and sea temperature, dewpoint
temperature, scalar wind speed, sea- level pressure, wave height, wind and
ocean- current roses.  This CD also allows the user to define element
intervals (e.g. 5 to 10 knots, 2 degree temperature intervals).  Contouring
for explicitly user-defined regions and exporting data to a printer or
diskette are supported.
  Contact:  National Climatic Data Center, see above.

Global Historical Fields (GHF) Vers 1.0. ($120):
  This version has no data for the Southern Hemisphere.  This CD-ROM allows
users to view daily surface charts for the period 1899 through April 1994.
Daily upper air charts (700mb, 500mb, 300mb) are available from the late
1940's through April 1994.  Surface charts contour sea level pressure only
(not station plots); upper air charts contour geopotential heights and
temperatures.  Charts can be contoured, looped, and exported to a file or
printer.  Joint NCDC and U.S. Navy product, DOS only.
  Contact:  National Climatic Data Center, see above.

U.S. Divisional and Station Climatic Data and Normals (USDS) v 1.0 ($120):
  This NCDC CD-ROM contains a collection of ASCII text data and documentation
files that pertain to the U.S climate normals and by-products of the normals.
Climatic variables include temperature, precipitation, degree days, and
Palmer Drought Indices.  The current normals period of 1961-1990 is covered
with monthly values calculated for approximately 6600 precipitation and 4700
temperature stations.  The earlier data/normals are provided for comparison
and research applications.
  This CD-ROM contains no software or extraction routines that allow users
to import the data directly into spreadsheets or other applications.  Format
and description of the files match NCDC magnetic tape series TD-9640 and
TD-9641.
  Contact:  National Climatic Data Center, see above.

NCDC Cooperative Station Data ($120 per volume, $1500 for complete set):
  21 volume CD-ROM set containing TD-3200 cooperative station data.  Major
elements include daily high and low temperatures, daily rainfall, daily
snowfall and snow depth, and evaporation.  General period of record is
1948-1993, but longer for selected stations.  There are approximately 8000
active stations in the dataset.  Historically, approximately 23,000 stations
are included for various years.  States are grouped geographically into volume
numbers.  The set contains inventories, station histories, and ASCII data
files. Joint NCDC and ARL project.
  Contact:  National Climatic Data Center, see above.

Hourly Modeled Sounding Data.  ($480, sold as set only):
  This 12 volume CD-ROM set contains hourly 80 KM modeled gridpoint U.S.
sounding data for 1990.  This data is the output from the Penn State
University MM4 model which used available daily sounding data for 1990 as
input.  Wind, temperature, dewpoint depression, and geopotential height data
for 8 standard and 15 variable levels are included in the NWS TTAA, TTBB
format.  Joint NCDC and ARL product. Requires 544K of RAM, DOS only.
  Contact:  National Climatic Data Center, see above.

Meteosat Images on CD-ROM, 1986 to 1991 (price on request):
  One full-disk infra-red image per day (usually at 12h00 UTC), one visible
image on day 1 of each month (at the same time as the infra-red image), one
water-vapour image on day 1 of each month of 1991 (at the same time as the
infra-red and visible image).  Images of the snow storm over the East coast
of the USA on 12&13 March 1993 (from meteosat-3 at 75 degrees East).  Images
of Kuwait during the Gulf war.  Full-disk Images taken by Meteosat-3 at 75
degrees East at the beginning of March 1993.
  Contact:  J. Le Ber, Meteosat Data Service, European Space Agency,
Robert Bosch Str. 5,  D6100 DARMSTADT GERMANY

High Resolution Climatology ($199/variable):  *COMMERCIAL*  (Floppy disk)
  Average monthly climatological values of maximum temperature, minimum
temperature,  and precipitation for every 1 square km of the conterminous
US for the 30-year periods 1951-1980 and 1961-1990.  The data are stored
as a rectangular matrix for each state.  Digitized state and county political
boundaries are included and referenced to the climate data sets.  The data
are in raster form as ASCII or 16-bit binary integers.  This dataset is
distributed on 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disks.
  Contact:  ZedX, Inc., P.O. Box 404, Boalsburg, PA  16827-0404.
814/466-2025.

US Summary of Day (4 disks, prices vary):  *COMMERCIAL*
  NCDC Summary of Day data, USGS streamflow data, retrieval and analysis
software.
  Contact:  Hydrosphere, Inc., 1002 Walnut, Suite 200, Boulder, CO  80302
800/949-4937, 303/443-7839

Atlas of Global Instrumental Climate Data - Version 1.0 ($30):
  Color-shaded and contoured images of global gridded instrumental data, with
each image simultaneously depicting anomaly maps of surface temperature, sea
level pressure, and 500 millibar geopotential heights and percentages of
reference period precipitation.  Monthly, seasonal, and annual composites are
available, in either cylindrical equidistant, or northern and southern
hemisphere polar projections.  Temperature maps are available from 1854 to
1991, precipitation maps from 1851 to 1989, sea level pressure maps from
1899 to 1991, and 500 mb height maps from 1946 to 1991.  All images are GIF
files (1024 x 822 pixels, 256 color). Shareware for viewing GIF images is
also available on the CD-ROM.
  Contact: Frank Keimig, Department of Geology and Geography, Box 35820,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-5820. 413/545-0659,
email [e-mail]

Historical Soviet Daily Snow Depth CD-ROM ($50):
  Historical Soviet Daily Snow Depth is based on observations at a
series of 284 World Meteorological Organization (WMO) stations throughout
the Former Soviet Union. The earliest operational stations began recording
snow depth in 1881 and the data continues until 1985. Geographic
distribution of stations is primarily in the mid latitudes of Eurasia and
correspond to inhabited areas. Stations range from 35 to 75 degrees north
latitude and from 20 to 180 degrees west longitude. Stations range in
altitude from -15 meters to 2100 meters.
  Daily data, as well as NSIDC-generated monthly means, are available
on a single CD-ROM containing ASCII data files, extraction software, and
data documentation. The source of the data used is the State
Hydrometeorological Service in Obninsk, Russia. Data were provided to NSIDC
via the Bilateral US-USSR WG-8 Exchange.  Production of this CD-ROM was
funded by the NOAA Earth Science Data and Information (ESDIM) Initiative
through the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC).
  Contact: NSIDC User Services, National Snow and Ice Data Center,
CIRES - Campus Box 449, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO  80309-0449.
303/492-6199, FAX [phone], email: [e-mail], Omnet: NSIDC.

------------------------------

Subject: 4) Research data

NMC gridpoint dataset ($150):
  Twice daily grids for the Northern Hemisphere at a resolution of about
381 km.
  Contact: National Center for Atmospheric Research, PO Box 3000, Boulder,
CO  80307.  303/497-1219, email [e-mail].

National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) discs:
  Various discs available, including:  Gulf of Mexico GLORIA data,
Geophysics of North America, global ecosystems, global topography,
gravity data, solar activity, and more.  A catalog and price list are
available via gopher or ftp (see part 1).
  Contact:  NGDC, 325 Broadway E/GC4, Dept. 894, Boulder, CO  80303.
303/497-6958, email [e-mail].

Global Ocean Temperature and Salinity (2 discs, $80 each or $124/both)
  Temperature and salinity in the world ocean for about 1900-1990, based
on all available XBTs, MBTs, BTs, etc.
  Contact:  National Oceanographic Data Center, NOAA/NESDIS E/OC21,
Washington, DC  20235.  202/606-4549.

Global Upper Air Climatic Atlas (GUACA) ($240 for set):
  This two-volume CD-ROM set uses a 12-year (1980-1991) 2.5 degree upper air
data base obtained from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather
Forecasts (ECMWF).  This CD presents upper air statistics for 15 vertical
levels in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere for dry bulb and dewpoint
temperature, geopotential height, air density, and vector and scalar wind
speed.  The disc provides access/display software for gridpoint data,
contouring capability for user-defined areas, and vertical profiles.
The climatology covers the 12-year period as well as individual year-months.
  This is a joint NCDC and U.S. Navy product.  DOS only.  An ASCII data
CD-ROM (no graphic interface) is also available at a cost of $120.00.
  Contact:  National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), Attn:  Climate Services
Branch, 151 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801-5001.  704/271-4800,
fax [phone], email [e-mail].  Add $5 service charge per order.

Radiosonde Data of North America 1946-1994. ($480):
  Contains all available radiosonde data for North America (U.S., Canada,
Mexico, and Caribbean Islands) through the 100-mb level on four disks.
Disk periods are 1946-1965, 1966-1979, 1980-1989, and 1990-1994.  Data
includes significant, mandatory, and special wind levels for all observation
times and includes geopotential height, temperature, dew point and wind
direction, and scalar speed.  The user can select for output to printer,
screen, or file, a single station or multiple stations for a defined time
period, or all stations within a specified geographic region in either
synoptic or station sort.  The CD also contains available station metadata.
  Software is available to access the data for DOS, UNIX and VMS computer
systems.  This is a joint NCDC and ERL product.  The latest single CD-ROM
(1990-1994) is also available separately for 120.00.
  Contact:  National Climatic Data Center, see above.

Global Tropical and Extratropical Cyclone Climatic Atlas (GTECCA) ($120):
  This CD-ROM contains all global historic tropical storm track data
available for five tropical storm basins.  Periods of record varies for each
basin, with the beginning as early as the 1870s and with 1992 at the latest
year.  Northern hemispheric extratropical storm track data will be included
from 1965 to 1992.  Tropical track data includes time, position, storm stage
(maximum wind, central pressure when available).  The user can display tracks,
track data for any basin or user-selected geographic area, or tracks passing
within a user-defined radius of any point.  Narratives for all tropical
storms for the 1980-1992 period will be included as well as basin-wide
tropical storm climatological statistics.
  Joint NCDC and U.S. Navy product, available for DOS only.
  Contact:  National Climatic Data Center, see above.

Global Daily Summary (GDS) ($120):
  This CD-ROM provides access to a 10,000-station set of daily maximum/minimum
temperature, daily precipitation, and 3-hourly present weather for the
1977-1991 period of record.  Data can be selected for viewing or output to
file for geographic areas or by a predefined user-selected list of stations.
The dataset includes element flags for suspected erroneous data.  A data
inventory contains station name, latitude/longitude, elevation, period of
record, and the number of observations of available data.
  Available for DOS only:  requires a bare minimum of 4 MB of RAM, with 8MB
of RAM recommended for superior performance.
  Contact:  National Climatic Data Center, see above.

GALE dataset (price not known):
  GALE (Genesis of Atlantic Lows), 1/15/86-4/15/86:  ship data, raobs,
aircraft, radar, etc off N Carolina coast.  Available through Dept. of
Atmos. Sci. (AK40), University of Washington, Seattle, WA  98195.

ERICA dataset ($35):
  ERICA (Experiment on Rapidly Intensifying Cyclones over the Atlantic),
12/1/88-2/26/89:  rawinsondes, aircraft, radar, buoys, satellite data, etc.
  Contact:  C. Kreitzberg, Dept. of Physics and Atmospheric Science,
Philadelphia, PA  19104.  [phone], [e-mail].

GEDEX (Greenhouse Effect Detection Experiment)(price not known):
  Two discs containing surface, upper air, and/or satellite-derived
measurements of temperature, solar irradiance, clouds, greenhouse
gases, fluxes, albedo, aerosols, ozone, and water vapor, along with
Southern Oscillation Indices and Quasi-Biennial Oscillation statistics.
Many of the data sets provide global coverage.  The spatial resolutions
vary from zonal to 2.5 degree grids.  Some surface station data sets
span more than 100 years;  most satellite-derived sets cover only the
past 12 years.  Temporal coverage is monthly for most sets.
  Contact:  NCDS/Goddard Distributed Active Archive Center, Code 935,
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD  20771.  301/286-3209, email
[e-mail]
  A more complete description of these discs may be obtained from
the ncardata.ucar.edu FTP site, in the file "other_resources/gedex".

HCDN (Hydro-climatic data network) streamflow dataset (price not known):
  Contains dataset, search software, and USGS Open-File Report 92-129
(Slack, J.R., and Landwehr, J.M., 1992, Hydro-climatic data network (HCDN):
A U.S. Geological Survey streamflow data set for the United States for the
study of climate variations, 1874-1988).
  Contact:  USGS, National Water Data Exchange (NAWDEX), MS 421 - National
Center, Reston VA  22092.
  The principal author of this dataset, James R. Slack, can be reached via
email at [e-mail].
  The information on the CD-ROM is also available via anonymous FTP
from srv1rvares.er.usgs.gov in the directory "hcdn92".

The following 6 discs/disc sets are available from NSIDC User Services,
National Snow and Ice Data Center, CIRES - Campus Box 449, University of
Colorado, Boulder, CO  80309-0449.  303/492-6199, FAX [phone],
email: [e-mail], Omnet: NSIDC.

DMSP F8 Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) Brightness Temperature
Grids for the Polar Regions (Price on request):
  18 CD-ROM discs contain daily gridded brightness temperature (Tb) for
the north and south polar regions (areas where sea ice occurs), on polar
stereographic grids, 9 July 1987 through 31 December 1991.  Each CD-ROM
contains approximately 3 months of data.  Defense Meteorological Satellite
Program (DMSP) F8 platform carried this first functional SSM/I instrument.
The SSM/I is a 7-channel, 4-frequency, linearly polarized, passive
microwave radiometric system; channels are 85.5 GHz Vertical/Horizontal,
37.0 GHz Vertical/Horizontal, 22.2 GHz Vertical, 19.3 GHz Vertical/Horizontal.
  Fortran program provided on diskette to extract single channel from
inter-leaved storage format.  Images can be displayed using IDL or other Unix
or PC software.  For 1992 and later data, see DMSP F11 SSM/I Brightness
Temperature Grids for the Polar Regions, below.
  Contact NSIDC, information above.

DMSP F8 Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) Sea Ice Concentration Grids
for the Polar Regions 1987 - 1991. (Price on request):
  DMSP F8 SSM/I Ice Concentration Grids for the Polar Regions consist of
daily first-year, multi-year, and total ice concentration on 25 x 25 km
polar stereographic grids for north and south polar regions.  SSM/I sea ice
CD-ROMs contain two sets of grids, 1) NASA Team algorithm; 2) J.C. Comiso
algorithm. Orbital antenna temperatures are processed to gridded brightness
temperatures and then used to derive gridded ice concentrations.  The SSM/I
sensor flies on U.S. Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program
(DMSP) platforms; the first operational SSM/I (Special Sensor
Microwave/Imager) was that on DMSP F8.  Two CD-ROMs contain all F8 SSM/I ice
concentrations, 9 July 1987 - 31 December 1991.  North polar files are
137202 bytes, south polar are 105922 bytes.
  Data are in HDF format and can be read using software from the National
Center for Supercomputing Applications (NSCA), available by anonymous ftp
from NCSA (ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu) or with commercial packages such as IDL.
  The SSM/I is a 7-channel, 4-frequency, linearly polarized, passive microwave
radiometric system: 85.5 GHz Vertical/Horizontal, 37.0 GHz Vertical/Horizontal,
22.2 GHz Vertical, 19.3 GHz Vertical/Horizontal.  DMSP F11 SSM/I ice
concentrations for 1992 and later dates will be produced starting in late 1994,
after the ice algorithms have been modified for F11 data.
  Contact NSIDC, information above.

DMSP F11 Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) Brightness Temperature Grids
for the Polar Regions.  (Price on request):
  CD-ROM discs contain daily gridded brightness temperature (Tb) for the
north and south polar regions (areas where sea ice occurs), on polar
stereographic grids, beginning on 3 December 1991.  Each CD-ROM contains
approximately 3 months of data in single-channel files, in HDF (Hierarchical
Data Format).  As of 8/94, 5 volumes cover 12/91 - 2/93.  Inquire for latest
available data.
  Software to read and manipulate the data in HDF is available via ftp from
National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA): ftp to
ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu; help is available from NCSA at [e-mail].
Data can also be displayed and manipulated using commercial packages such
as IDL.
  The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F11 platform carries
this SSM/I instrument, a 7-channel, 4-frequency, linearly polarized, passive
microwave radiometric system; channels are 85.5 GHz Vertical/Horizontal,
37.0 GHz Vertical/Horizontal, 22.2 GHz Vertical, 19.3 GHz Vertical/Horizontal.
This product uses the same grid and projection as the NSIDC DMSP F8 SSM/I
brightness temperature and sea ice concentration CD-ROMs (1987 - 1991, see
above).
  Contact NSIDC, information above.

Nimbus-7 Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) Polar Radiances
and Arctic and Antarctic Sea Ice Concentrations, 1978 - 1987.  (Price on
request):
  Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) Polar Radiances and
Sea Ice Concentrations on CD-ROM contain gridded brightness temperatures (Tb)
and sea ice concentrations for 10/78 - 8/87 (the life of the Nimbus-7 SMMR
scanner) for both polar regions on 12 CD-ROMs.  Data were collected at 6.60,
10.69, 18.00, 21.00 and 37.00 GHz in an alternate-day operating pattern
due to spacecraft power limitations.  [NOTE: Input data set is SMMR TCT
tapes; this is different from the previous SMMR CD-ROM product distributed
by NSIDC in 1989.]  Tb (in Kelvins) and sea ice concentration (in percent)
grids have 25 x 25 km grid elements in polar stereographic projection.
Volume 7 contains all SMMR sea ice concentrations for both polar regions,
plus 5 months of Tb grids for the north polar region.  The Tb grids are
stored as 16-bit integers; one day of Tb data is 0.27 mbytes for the north
polar region, 0.21 mbytes for the south.  Ice grids are stored as 8-bit
integers, each file = 136192 bytes for the north, 104912 bytes for the south.
The NASA Team Algorithm (Cavalieri et al., 1984; Gloersen and Cavalieri,
1986) was used to calculate ice concentrations from the Tbs.  Data produced
by Dr. P. Gloersen, NASA/GSFC, Oceans and Ice Branch.
  Documentation is provided on the CD-ROMs, in a hard-copy User's Guide, and
in the "SMMR Atlas", NASA Special Report SP-511 (Gloersen, et al., 1992.)
  Contact NSIDC, information above.

Historical Arctic Rawinsonde Archive (HARA), 1947-1987. (Price on request):
  The Historical Arctic Rawisonde Archive on CD-ROM, volumes 1-3, contains
over 1.2 million vertical soundings of temperature, pressure, humidity, and
wind, representing all available rawisonde ascents from Arctic land stations
poleward of 65 degrees North from the beginning of record through 1987.  For
most stations the record begins in 1958, a few begin in 1947 or 1948.  The
data are one file per year per station.  Coverage is relatively uniform,
except in the interior of Greenland.  Typically 20-40 levels are available in
each sounding.
  Documentation is provided on the CD-ROM volumes, and in hard copy (NSIDC
Special Report 2, 1992).  Software (Fortran and C) is provided on the CD-ROM
volumes to retrieve a subset of the sounding data.
  Data for 1988-1990, and monthly averaged data, will be distributed in late
1994.  Sounding data were obtained from the National Center for Atmospheric
Research (NCAR), Boulder, Colorado and the National Climatic Data Center
(NCDC) of NOAA in Asheville, North Carolina.  Data from drifting ice islands,
ships and aircraft dropsondes are being assembled as a separate archive.
  Contact NSIDC, information above.

Eastern Arctic Ice, Ocean and Atmosphere Data, Volume 1, CEAREX-1 ($50):
  Contains sea ice acceleration, deformation and stress; hydrography
(CTDs); meteorology; bathymetry; acoustics and ambient noise (sample
data) from Coordinated Eastern Arctic Experiment (CEAREX).  Includes
meteorology from Marginal Ice Zone Experiment (MIZEX), 1983, 1984, 1987.
Experiment location: Arctic Ocean north of Svalbard; Fram Strait, September
1988 - May 1989.  Amount of data: 460 mbytes.
  Data format: ASCII files.  Associated software: none.  Additional volumes
are planned; content not yet determined.
  Contact NSIDC, information above.

NWS/NOHRSC snow cover data ($50 each year):
  Airborne snow water equivalent and satellite areal extent of snow cover
data for 1990-1993 are now available on CD-ROM for major portions of the
U.S., Alaska, and Canada. The CD-ROMs include: (1) airborne snow water
equivalent data and the digitized flight line network, (2) calibrated AVHRR
and GOES satellite data used to map snow cover, (3) the classified snow cover
images (4) national and regional snow cover image products, and (5) ancillary
data sets including digital elevation data, digitized NWS basin boundaries,
and the alphanumeric results of the satellite snow cover mapping by basin and
by elevation zone.
  Contact:  CD-ROM Snow Cover Data, National Operational Hydrologic Remote
Sensing Center (NOHRSC),  National Weather Service, NOAA,
1735 Lake Drive West, Chanhassen, Minnesota  55317-8582
612/361-6610, FAX [phone], email [e-mail] (Tim Szeliga)
dial-up bbs 612/361-6632

STORM-FEST data (3 discs, price unknown):
  Data from the STORM-FEST experiment -- surface observations and rawinsonde,
satellite, radar, NOWRAD, and profiler data -- plus Zeb software for viewing
the data.
  Contact Steve Williams, [e-mail].

AVHRR monthly global MCSST / CZCS data (5 discs, price on request)
  The AVHRR MCSST and CZCS phytoplankton pigment concentration data set
contains monthly averaged sea-surface temperatures (day and night) derived
from NOAA satellite AVHRR which are temporally and spatially coregistered
with phytoplankton pigment concentration data acquired from the CZCS
instrument on Nimbus-7.  The CZCS data cover 1978-1986 and AVHRR data
cover the period from 1981-1986, giving 5 years of coregistered data.
  Contact:  PO.DAAC at JPL. Contact the User Services Office at
[e-mail] for more details.

TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter merged geophysical data record (Price on request)
  Global coverage data from the TOPEX/POSEIDON mission from both the U.S.
and French altimeters with high precision orbits and environmental corrections.
The data are distributed on CD-ROMs (ISO 9660) and in an integer format usable
on VAX, UNIX, PCs, and Macs.  Each CD-ROM contains two ten-day cycles of
data, precision orbit, and cross-over files for each cycle and read software
for VAX and UNIX. As of May '94  cycles 1-52 exist on CD-ROM.
  Contact:  PO.DAAC, information above.

TOGA related satellite and in-situ data CD-ROM '85-'90. (Price on request).
  PO.DAAC has produced a set of seven CD-ROMs which contain satellite,
in-situ, and model derived data pertaining to atmospheric and oceanographic
parameters. Parameters include ocean currents, sea-surface temperature and
salinity, air temperature and pressure, cloud, and precipitation. Software will
be included. The data have been provided by agencies worldwide. (Available
in June '94.)
  Contact:  PO.DAAC, information above.

Software atlas and plotting tool for oceanographic sections (diskettes)
  ATLAST, a PC software atlas and plotting tool for oceanographic sections
(Rhines) OCEANATLAS, a Macintosh software atlas and plotting tool for
oceanographic sections (Swift et al.) are available on diskettes.
  Contact:  PO.DAAC, information above.

TOGA/COARE GMS-4 images (2 discs, $75 for the set):
  GMS-4 images during the TOGA/COARE Intensive Observation Period
(November 1992 to March 1993) regridded over 135E - 175E, 10S - 10N,
5km square pixel size.  1910 infrared and 877 visible images of albedo and
brightness temperature with overlays of the geographic grid and the
positions of moorings and ships.  Images are in compressed PostScript
format but tools are included to uncompress and convert the data
into other formats.
  Contact:  Satellite Oceanography Laboratory, University of Hawaii, 1000
Pope Road, Honolulu, HI 96822.  The check should be made to the order
of "RCUH".

Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) Global Datasets (price not known):
  Contains Version 1.1 SRB shortwave products for the period March
1985 through December 1988 as produced by the World Climate Research
Programme's (WCRP) SRB Satellite Data Analysis Center (SDAC).
Inputs to the Version 1.1 product are results from the International
Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) and the Earth Radiation
Budget Experiment (ERBE).  SDAC uses two methods (known as the
Pinker and Staylor algorithms) to estimate surface downward and
net irradiances, surface albedo, downward direct/diffuse ratio,
surface cloud forcing, and daylight cloud fraction.  In addition,
various other radiation, cloud, meteorological and diagnostic
parameters are provided to aid the user in understanding variations
in the SRB parameters.
  The SRB CD-ROM has been formatted and produced to work with IBM PCs,
Apple Macintoshes and Unix systems with ISO-9660 CD-ROM driver support.
In addition, read and display software for IBM PCs and Apple Macintoshes
are available upon request.
  Contact:  Langley DAAC User Services, MS 157B, NASA Langley Research
Center, Hampton, VA, 23681-0001. [phone], [e-mail]

SAM II Aerosol Data (no cost):
  Contains Stratospheric Aerosol Measurement (SAM) II data collected from
October 1978 - January 1993, documentation, and read software.   The SAM
II instrument, aboard the Earth-orbiting Nimbus-7 spacecraft, was designed
to measure solar irradiance attenuated by aerosol particles in the Arctic
and Antarctic stratosphere.  The scientific objective of the SAM II experiment
was to develop a stratospheric aerosol database for the polar regions by
measuring and mapping vertical profiles of the atmospheric extinction due
to aerosols.  This database allows for studies of aerosol changes due to
seasonal and short-term meteorological variations, atmospheric chemistry,
cloud microphysics, and volcanic activity and other perturbations.
  Contact:  Langley DAAC, information above.

United Kindom Digital Marine Atlas V2.0 (UKP56.40):   (Floppy disk)
  This is an IBM compatibile PC based Marine Atlas covering the Northeast
Atlantic and mainly centered on the British Isles.  It comes on five
1.4MB floppies and runs under DOS (V3.0 or higher).  It has several
sections covering areas such as general Bathymetry, Marine Geology,
Marine and Coastal Nature Conservation in Breat Britain, Marine Biology,
Physical Oceanography, Marine Chemistry, Fisheries and the BODC data
catalogues amongst others.
  Contact:  UKDMAP Project Manager, British Oceanographic Data Centre,
Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, Bidston Observatory, BIRKENHEAD,
Merseyside L43 7RA United Kingdom.  [phone], Fax: [phone].

Stratospheric Ozone ($39.95, $49.95 beginning March 1 1995) *COMMERCIAL*
  This is a multimedia CD-ROM for the Apple Macintosh from Lenticular Press
(College Station, TX).  It includes the huge Nimbus 7 TOMS database of
stratospheric ozone measurements; global and hemispheric daily, monthly,
and climatological maps, and numerical data for the entire 14.5-year record,
more than 16,000 maps and 500 MB of data in all.
  Contact:  Lenticular Press, P.O. Box 10413, College Station, TX  77842-0413.
409/693-0622, 409/693-0729 fax, [e-mail].


------------------------------

Subject: 5) Miscellaneous

NASA discs:
  Various discs available, including:  Voyager spacecraft images (12 discs,
under $20 each!), Viking images of Mars, Magellan Venus data, Halley's
comet data (25 discs), excerpts from astronomical catalogs, and more.
  Contact:  NSSDC (NASA Space Science Data Center), Code 933.4, NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD  20771.  301/286-6695.  They
also publish a free newsletter.

CD-ROM, INC:        *COMMERCIAL*
  Several hundred discs available, including:  "GRIPS 2" high resolution
images of topography, Landsat, vegetation maps, plus software ($49),
"JEDI" 3 discs full of earth, space, and sea science data intended for
school use ($31), 13 business/economic discs, >50 literature and
entertainment discs, >40 health-related discs, many science discs.
Prices range from $29-$895.  Free catalog available from them.
  Contact:  CD-ROM, Inc, 1667 Cole Blvd. Suite 400, Golden, CO  80401.
303/526-7600, FAX [phone].

Digital Chart of the World ($200):
  The Digital Chart of the World (DCW) is a comprehensive 1:1,000,000-scale
vector basemap of the world containing cartographic, attribute, and
textual data.  It is provided with software that permits the database to
be accessed, queried, and displayed on PC-class computers.  The primary
source for the database is the U.S. Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) Operational
Navigation Chart (ONC) series.
  There are 4 discs:   (1)North America, (2)Europe/Northern Asia, (3)South
American/Africa/Antarctica, and (4)Southern Asia/Australia.  The data are
organized into 17 thematic coverages, including political boundaries and
ocean coast lines, cities, transportation networks, drainage, land cover,
and elevation contours.
  Contact:  USGS Open File Section, Box 25286, Denver, CO  80225.
303/236-7476.

GOES Space Environment Data (price unknown):
  This disk includes data from January 1986 - April 1994 in 1-minute and
5-minute averages.  Includes measurements of the 3 components of the
Earth's magnetic field, whole-sun X-ray fluxes for the 0.5-to-4.0 and
1-to-8 Angstrom wavelength bands, photon, alpha particle, and electron fluxes.
  The CD-ROM includes software to display and analyze the Space Environment
Monitor data.  DOS and IDL (Interactive Data Language) versions of the
software allow the use of data on many platforms.
  Contact:  Solar-Terrestrial Physics Division, National Geophysical Data
Center, NOAA Code E/GC2, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO  80303.  303/497-6761,
fax [phone], email [e-mail].

Windows on the Weather (price unknown):
  This is an educational disc which allows the user to explore typical
airmasses over Britain using satellite sequences, weather charts, weather
data, pictures, diagrams, text and audio descriptions.  Samples from
this disc can be seen at:
http://www.rmplc.co.uk/eduweb/sites/advunit/wow.html
  Contact:  The Advisory Unit computers inEducation, 126 Great North Road,
Hatfield Herts, AL9 5JZ UK, email [e-mail]

Landsat images ($10):                *COMMERCIAL*
  Over 500 Landsat satellite images (JPG and GIF) from around the world,
along with many Windows and DOS utilities for CAD and image processing,
some educational games and a tutorial about LANDSAT satellites.
  Contact:  Intermountain Digital Imaging, LC, 275 East 200 South, Suite 15,
Salt Lake City UT  84111.  801/355-4030, US toll-free 800/280-4030,
fax [phone], email [e-mail]

Earth Observatorium ($49 for 2 CDs)             *COMMERCIAL*
  These disks explore NASA's program "Mission to Planet Earth" through the
use of the complete photographic results of Earth from Space Shuttle flights
59 & 68. (almost 25,500 24- bit color photos). Includes annotation of each
picture by country name, general feature, time, and lat/long location.
  Contact:  Rocky Mountain Digital Peeks, 303/258-3779, US toll-free
800/266-7637,  fax [phone], URL:http://www.sni.net/malls/rmdp/ee.html
email [e-mail]
--
/\       Ilana Stern [e-mail] http://www.scd.ucar.edu/dss/ilana.html
  \_][   Data Support Section * National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
      \__PO Box 3000, Boulder, Colorado 80307 * 303/497-1214 * 303/497-1298 fax